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Connacht win first ever Pro12 title
DECLAN MURPHY
Roar Guru
2nd June, 2016
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DECLAN MURPHY
Roar Guru
2nd June, 2016
5

In 2003, rumours spread throughout Ireland that the IRFU were planning on ditching the Connacht rugby squad and reducing the amount of professional teams in Ireland to three.

The cost of funding four separate provincial squads was deemed to be too prohibitive and Connacht was looked on as being the ‘weak link’.

The public outcry against this rumoured plan was so loud (those who came out in support of Connacht, some who’d never even seen a rugby game, marched in Dublin, where the IRFU have their offices, to protest) that the IRFU were forced to ditch their plans. Connacht would remain a professional outfit. They had survived only by the skin of their teeth.

Over the years Connacht were the weakest of the Irish provinces. Alone of all the teams, they had never won the interprovincial championship. Any win by Connacht against any of the other provinces was cause for great celebrations.

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Connacht were poorly represented within the IRFU and the only Connacht players to gain any real note on the international stage were Ciaran Fitzgerald (two-time Triple Crown winning captain with Ireland) and Eric Elwood. There were many times when Ireland played a season without featuring any Connacht players in the squad.

Everything changed on Saturday, May 28, when Connacht won their first ever Pro12 title, beating Leinster, 20-10. Connacht were very much the underdogs going into the match. Connacht had never won a rugby title, and were appearing in their first ever Pro12 final.

Leinster, in contrast, had won four Pro12 titles, three Heineken Cups, one Challenge Cup and had appeared in eight Pro12 finals. Leinster also had a much stronger side, on paper. Although without the services of Cian Healy, Devin Toner, Isa Nacewa and Sean O’Brien, Leinster still had Ireland internationals Robert and David Kearney, Luke Fitzgerald, Jonny Sexton, Eoin Reddan, Jaimie Heaslip and Jack McGrath, among others.

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Leinster have suffered throughout the season from a loss of form, though, and this was highlighted in the match, as Connacht took control. Connacht have been playing an attractive, risk-taking style of rugby all season, and rather then abandon that, they stuck with it in the final, and it paid off.

Connacht won the match, 20-10, scoring three tries to Leinster’s sole effort. After a slow start, Connacht took control of the game, and despite letting Leinster return they still kept them out to win a historic victory.

The whole of Ireland can celebrate in Connacht’s great triumph. It was a rare high in what has been a very disappointing season for Irish rugby. A sign of a downturn in fortunes, both for the provinces and the country as a whole.

After back to back Six Nations titles, Ireland finished middle of the table. And, for the first time in the competition’S history, a single Irish province failed to appear in the knockout stages of the European Cup (Heineken/ERCC).

Both Munster and Leinster suffered serious losses in form, while Ulster proved little better. Connacht were the single bright light of the season. As little as three seasons ago, Connacht finished tenth in the Pro12 table, with six wins and 16 losses out of 22 games. This season they finished second, with 15 wins and seven losses!

For the first time in history, Connacht were undefeated against Munster in a season, winning both games, home and away. Connacht also achieved wins against every other team in the Pro12, apart from Ulster.

Connacht’s great feats have won them promotion to the ERCC, for the first time on their own merit. Before they had been elevated automatically after another Irish province had won the European Cup.

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Credit for the amazing resurgence must go to all the players and to Pat Lam, the Connacht coach.

The Connacht team’s motto is ‘the Devil’s Own’. This was the motto of an Irish regiment, the Connacht Rangers, that was part of the British army and fought against Napolean, took part in the Boer War and World War I and actually fought against the rebels in the 1916 Rising.

The regiment was stood down after Ireland gained independence. In 1936, the Irish Parliament (Oireachtais) introduced the Connacht Rangers (Pensions) Act, which provided pensions and other benefits for those that served in the Rangers.

The Devil’s Own motto may refer to a famous phrase connected with Connacht. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell and the English Parliament passed the Irish Settlement Act, which basically transferred ownership of land in Ireland from the Irish landowners to English settlers.

The Irish landowners were given a ‘choice’. Either resettle to Connacht, which at the time was considered the most desolate land in the country, or be put to the sword. This was the origin of the infamous phrase “to Hell or to Connacht”. That’s certainly not the view these days, though. Several Connacht players that have been headhunted by the other provinces have decided to stay with Connacht.

It is one of the most amazing stories in rugby, or sport in general. Connacht, once considered an also-ran, or afterthought, can now take their place as one of the top teams in Europe. And players like Ultan Dillon, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, Kieran Marmion,and Matt Healy can now add themselves to the list of Ireland’s greats!

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